


Equilateral

by Storylandqueen



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Future Fic, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-20
Updated: 2010-12-20
Packaged: 2017-10-13 21:43:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/142022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Storylandqueen/pseuds/Storylandqueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Equilateral - With equal sides: describes a geometric figure in which all the sides are of equal length</p>
            </blockquote>





	Equilateral

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zelly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zelly/gifts).



> Many thanks to my girlfriend for the quick beta. ♥

The break-up was… not what she expected, which was really shocking to Annabeth since she was used to knowing almost everything, but she hadn’t really seen how this would end. It wasn’t that she thought she would stay with Percy forever, because she knew Aphrodite had promised him an interesting love life and how many people actually stayed with the same person they dated as a teenager?

She was expecting the end and she also expected that Percy would fight her about it, say that she was being unreasonable and he was sorry for whatever he’d done to make her mad. Annabeth expected him to be surprised and apologetic, willing to work on whatever the problems were, so Annabeth came prepared with a list of both their shortcomings, mostly focusing on her jealousy and his obliviousness. There were other things, too, like his immaturity and her dedication to her projects, as well as the distance between them and the influence of interfering gods, but she knew they could argue for hours without touching that.

When she told Percy they needed to talk, she was geared for a battle, ready to stand her ground until she managed to force it through his head that she wasn’t on her period and it wasn’t really his fault, but they just didn’t match anymore. Besides, almost a year wasn’t bad. It could have been longer, but the idea of sticking around and trying to make things work until her frustration destroyed their friendship was terrible. She still cared for Percy, but not enough as she should, not for this.

If anyone asked Annabeth how she saw herself, she would say smart, independent, confident, and competent, but her self-confidence was just as susceptible to injury by rejection as any other teenage girl’s. After announcing she wanted to break up, Percy looked right at Annabeth, sighed, and said “okay”. Not a single fight or word of protest, just release, as if he was tired of trying and she wasn’t worth fighting for.

Annabeth left almost immediately, trying to hide how shaken she was as she thanked him for being agreeable and said they were so much better off separated. When she left his cabin, Annabeth made her way straight to see Rachel, wanting to know how her picture of the break-up could be so wrong.

Rachel was waiting for her at the door with a cup of hot chocolate and pulled her into a one-armed hug. “Patience,” she said into Annabeth’s hair. “It’s not your fault, it’s just not time yet.”

 

Nico had gotten used to seeing Annabeth around while she was dating Percy, but it seemed like he saw more of her the summer after they broke up than he had before and he didn’t know why. It was like she was just suddenly there, although Nico knew she’d always been there. He’d met her at the same time he met Percy, after all, but the connection wasn’t the same and he didn’t have the same awareness. It wasn’t that he’d finally gotten to the age to notice girls, because he didn’t, and he didn’t notice boys, either – he noticed _people_ , and it seemed Annabeth was finally on his radar.

When she’d been dating Percy and would be over at the house or his cabin or whatever, Nico generally blocked her out, more intent on what Percy was doing and thinking than anything else, his opinion on Annabeth being that she was a bossy know-it-all that would nag and correct him if given the chance, but that changed after they broke up, too. It was like he suddenly realized she was an actual person and not some type of creature that followed Percy around, allowing him to see Annabeth for who she was.

That revelation didn’t mean he suddenly wanted to date her or go for moonlit walks or carry books from the library for her or whatever ridiculous act she would consider romantic, but he did wish he’d paid more attention to her before. Now he was wondering what all those afternoons he spent on a handheld game as Percy and Annabeth watched a movie would have been like if he’d joined them. Maybe he could have convinced Annabeth to play a game with him, or perhaps she would have liked to help them in the kitchen on those rare days when he and Percy decided to thank Sally by making dinner.

He didn’t want her, but he definitely wanted to know what it was like to be with her and not feel like she was a thief trying to steal Percy’s attention away, so he began to find reasons to hang out with her, like thinking up battle strategies or sword training to find out the best comeback move. Sometimes they did things like practice with bows or work on their Pegasus riding skills, even though neither of them really cared about that.

Well, Annabeth did, but she was a perfectionist who didn’t like to admit there was anything she couldn’t do better. As for Nico, he didn’t see the point of riding a Pegasus when he could just use shadow travel, and he’d rather slide a knife between someone’s ribs while they were sleeping than shoot them with an arrow out of a tree.

Eventually Nico dropped the pretext of wanting to work on something with Annabeth and started showing up for no reason at all, but hanging out with Annabeth had the drawback of making him feel like he was betraying Percy. The other boy knew Nico was spending time with Annabeth, but he never really said anything about it, just smiled and nodded. Even though Annabeth and Percy said multiple times that they both still wanted to be friends, that didn’t really seem to work out. They’d been fine for the rest of the summer after their break-up, both acting like everything was okay, but the pair fell out of contact after that, leaving their conversations awkward and stilted the next summer, like they were both waiting for something to happen, to see what the other would, or wouldn’t, say. It drove Nico crazy and he didn’t understand why they couldn’t just get over it.

He wanted them to be friends again because he actually liked Annabeth now and spending time with her made him feel guilty, as if he was abandoning Percy, and he couldn’t handle that. All Nico wanted was for the three of them to be able to get together and things not to be weird, and if Percy and Annabeth wouldn’t fix the problem, then he would.

It was a few days before the end of camp when Nico barged into Rachel’s room in the big house and announced. “I need your help to make them quit acting like idiots.”

Rachel raised her eyebrows before she sighed and closed the book in her lap. “You’re all so slow.” She said, waving him over to hear her plans.

 

Living with Nico wasn’t really like anything Percy expected. He’d never had to share his room before and he’d only shared his cabin for one summer, so he realized he was in for something different when his bed was replaced with a bunk bed. Nico moved in right after the battle, almost swept off his feet by Sally’s care and unable to turn her down. Percy didn’t really see Nico as the kind of guy to enjoy being pampered, but Sally doted on Nico and the boy just soaked it up, never once complaining that he didn’t need to be babied.

In a way, all of the attention made Percy jealous, but he knew what a warm heart his Mom had and how little maternal affection Nico had experienced in his life. Percy remembered thinking his Mom was dead and imagining what it must have been like for Nico to lose not only his Mother, but his sister as well, made Percy bite back any bitter feeling he might have.

Besides, it was nice to see Nico relax and open up. There was something about the look on his face whenever Sally would surprise him with cookies or some other treat that would make Percy’s chest feel tight. It was so good to see Nico smile like that and Percy found himself trying to bring out that smile more often, doing things he knew would make Nico happy.

So, no, he mostly didn’t mind sharing his Mom with Nico, because Nico deserved to be cared for and they never left him out for long. Percy also didn’t mind sharing his room with Nico because it was nice knowing there was another heartbeat in the dark, someone like him that would risk his life for him. Not that he doubted his other friends wouldn’t do that as well, but Nico was different.

The feeling wasn’t the same with him, it was something special and unique, almost as if a God had observed and taken all these notes on what he needed before breathing life into them to form a person. Kind of like Pandora, but hopefully without the ill intentions.

If Thalia challenged Percy to be a better leader and Annabeth for him to be a smarter fighter, then Nico challenged him to be a more caring person, because somewhere along the line, taking care of Nico became a priority. It wasn’t something he felt he had to do, it was something he was compelled to do, and Percy didn’t have a problem with that.

Percy stayed at home for his time in college, but once he was finished with that, he got what he thought was the bright idea of going sailing on the boat Poseidon had given him as a twenty-first birthday present. He didn’t plan on being gone long, just a week or two and then he’d go to Camp and catch up with everyone.

He almost asked Nico to come along before realizing that he was always with Nico and that it wouldn’t hurt either of them to be separated from each other for a while. It wasn’t as though they were attached to the hip and he would see him at Camp in a few weeks. Nico would be fine, he told himself.

Despite the comforting rocking of the boat, Percy couldn’t sleep the first night because of the unsettling quiet. He could hear the sail fluttering in the wind, but it wasn’t the right kind of noise, not when he kept expecting to hear the sound of a mattress as Nico flipped in his sleep and snuffled, his breathing seeming loud in the small room. Percy had never realized he could miss the sound of someone breathing, but the air seemed so odd now that he wasn’t sharing it with Nico.

Percy suddenly realized it had been years since he’d gone to sleep without Nico in the room, and even when there was a quest, there was still someone nearby. During a quest he used up his energy and was on edge, constantly ready to fight, so he could drop off without notice to keep his strength up, but just regular sleeping for the sake of it seemed impossible. Percy didn’t even go to sleep at Camp without Nico anymore, and he wasn’t even sure how that became habit, he just knew that they’d go to each other’s Cabin’s and talk until the fell asleep, and eventually they stopped going their separate ways.

It was almost four in the morning when Nico dropped out of nowhere onto his boat and Percy thought he was hallucinating until Nico stalked over and glared, kicking the side of his bed.

“I can’t sleep,” Nico said accusingly.

“I just want to hear you breathe,” Percy replied.

Percy sat up as he realized that was probably a weird thing to say, but apparently Nico understood, because he gave a huff and pushed Percy over, flopping down next to him and curling up to sleep. He was out in less than ten minutes and when Percy heard the first snuffles, he smiled and closed his eyes.

 

The year Percy finished college, Rachel held a New Year’s Eve party and gave everyone a different reason for why a party was needed to celebrate, but no one really questioned her reasoning. That was a perk of being the Oracle, you could say unusual things and everyone tended to believe you knew exactly what you were talking about.

Which, in all fairness, Rachel did know what she was talking about and was pretty sure she knew how things were going to play out, but sometimes she still got worried, especially when her actions, based on her dreams, were going to affect the personal lives of her friends. She had dreamt about this moment for years and sketched its various stages as she waited for the right time, but she was almost jittery now that the clock was winding down.

Casting her eyes around the crowded room, she saw them lingering in a corner, Percy sipping from a cup filled with red liquid as Nico nodded along to whatever Annabeth was saying, her hands moving to emphasize a point. It had taken a while, but Rachel’s guile combined with Nico’s stubbornness had managed to bolster Annabeth and Percy back into a state of almost friendship, where they were just a shade too proprietary about each other to be normal.

The clock showed there wasn’t too much time left and Rachel counted the minutes until Percy recognized someone across the room and took off, leaving Nico and Annabeth to their conversation. It took them maybe ten minutes before they started looking around for Percy, wondering why he hadn’t returned yet.

Almost without planning, it seemed, the pair started to slowly walk the room as they talked, stopping in spots and looking around as they kept discussing whatever it was they both thought so interesting. On their fifth stop around the room, one of the Aphrodite girls piped up that they were underneath a piece of conveniently forgotten mistletoe.

Rachel grinned as she pictured Nico rolling his eyes even as one hand went to Annabeth’s waist as Annabeth grabbed his shoulder, pulling him down because at some point the boy had hit a growth spurt, leaving him tall and thin with rebellious good looks.

Neither of them hesitated or even seemed to consider if the kiss would be awkward, they just moved together for a quick, slightly more than friendly peck, and then they were sliding apart, but it wasn’t soon enough. Percy had seen them, but not the mistletoe, and he couldn’t wrap his brain around why they were kissing and somehow even Annabeth’s logic disappeared in the face of the subject of kissing and the trio was quickly dissolving into a fight in the middle of Rachel’s party.

Moving closer to hear what they were saying, she realized it was more Percy and Annabeth arguing as Nico helpfully pointed out exaggerations and half-lies.

“Nico, shut up.” Annabeth said in frustration.

“Don’t tell him to shut up.” Percy said. “You’re not the only one with something to say, Annabeth. You don’t get to be the only one that’s right.”

“You’re only saying that because you want him to be on your side!”

“At least I don’t need to shove my tongue down his throat to get his attention.”

Annabeth turned red, “Tell me, Percy, who are you jealous of – him or me?”

“Nico is my friend,” Percy seethed. “But I’m not going to let you try stealing him from me.”

“Stealing? Did it ever occur to you that he might be my friend, too? People don’t have to revolve around just you, I have just as much right to him as you do.”

“No, you –”

“Why can’t the two of you just share me?” Nico broke in, exasperated.

“Exactly!” Rachel exclaimed from behind them, making Percy jump. Grabbing Percy and Annabeth’s hands, she started to drag them through the room, but not before they both reached out for Nico to pull him along as well.

The four of them cut through the crowd together as Rachel led them to an empty room, bringing them inside and letting go of their hands before hurrying back to the door. “Okay, it’s about time to end this. Percy, Annabeth, you’re a great team and you still really like each other. It didn’t work out the first time because you both needed to grow up some and guess what, you have. Annabeth, Nico, you actually have a great understanding and if the two of you work at it, you can figure out pretty much anything. Percy, you’re ridiculously attached to Nico, there’s nothing that can challenge the bond you two have. Get used to it. Now, the three of you are here, alone, so figure something out.”

Stepping out of the room, Rachel closed the door and locked it, leaning against the wood as she looked for a clock.

 

Inside the room, Annabeth, Nico and Percy let go of each other and took a step back, looking at each other uncertainly, then at the door.

Percy spoke first, “Do you think it would do any good to try the door?”

“No,” Annabeth and Nico said.

“Oh.” Percy replied. “Nico, do you think you could –”

“No,” Nico said again, then, “well, yes, I could, but I won’t.”

“Why not?”

Annabeth huffed, “We’re in here for a reason, Percy.”

Percy frowned, “Well yeah, but, we can’t just –”

“Have you forgotten that she’s the Oracle?” Nico interjected. “I’m pretty sure she knows what she’s talking about.”

“Oh, come on, you can’t be serious.”

“We need to talk about this.” Annabeth said seriously.

“Yeah, you think?” Percy said. “But where do we start?”

“I think I’ve got an idea.” Nico said, tilting his head towards the door as he stepped closer to the other two. From outside the room they could hear the sound of the crowd yelling the countdown to midnight.

“You’ve got to be joking.” Percy sounded ludicrous.

“Oh, like you aren’t curious.” Annabeth shot back as she moved closer to him.

“Come on, Percy, where’s your sense of adventure?” Nico taunted with a smirk.

Percy gave him a look, then took a deep breath and stepped into their space until the three of them stood facing each other in a tight circle.

3…  
2…  
1…


End file.
